Bungie's 'Destiny' Is A Shared-World Shooter, With Journey-Style Multiplayer For Xbox 360 And PS3

Bungie has unveiled its new 'shared-world' shooter game 'Destiny' but there's still very little to go on.

The age of massively-multiplayer first-person shooters is upon us. Planetside 2 has already a launched. DUST 514, the EVE Online shooter companion, is in beta as it prepares to launch. Both games are MMO shooters and both are free-to-play.

Bungie's newly unveiled Destiny is apparently not an MMOFPS; rather, the game is a "shared-world shooter" according to Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, with a multiplayer that has been described as similar to the innovative Journey and its equally innovative "match-making" system.

So far, even with the unveil, screenshots and gameplay video remain sparse to say the least, and the game is very much in the "concept art" phase. (See the below gallery and video for more.)

The game is a far-future "mythic" science fiction universe.

From that I gather we'll have a world as much under the influence of magic as it is powered by far-future technology. Think Star Wars with its Force or the sword-and-planet genre with its fallen civilizations and its twin reliance on magic and tech. That's a genre I love, and the story of the nearly-destroyed Earth and its mysterious savior, the giant white orb known as The Traveler, which imbues your players with some of its power, all sounds lovely to me.

I'm a little sad---okay, a lot sad---that this is coming to consoles only, though I'm not in the least surprised.

That sadness is diluted somewhat by my hopes for the decade-long franchise. It won't be a subscription game, and I suspect we'll get something more along the lines of Guild Wars 2, with a single purchase and DLC/cash shop, though I could be wrong and Bungie isn't saying anything beyond the lack of a monthly fee.

If the game is truly open-world, and allows players to explore and adventure rather than simply place them in bigger online competitive matches, this could very well be the game I've been waiting for. As a big fan of the Halo series, I do have faith in Bungie's ability to deliver. And here, with Destiny, they do seem as though they've been able to really spread their wings and let their imagination unfurl.

Here's the unveiling video:

The game will have a little bit of something for everyone. You can go solo or stick with a group. There's going to be some sort of large-group raid system.

My other sadness is that the game is a first-person shooter rather than a third-person shooter.

First-person games are immersive in their own right, but they just don't satisfy the RPG itch for me. If I am in an MMO or a "shared world" shooter, and I'm a unique character---Bungie promises all sorts of character customization and elements to make each player unique---then I want to be able to actually see my character at all times, or at least most of the time.

Granted, the social hubs---the areas where combat isn't on the table, where you go to refuel your ship and interact with other players---will be a third-person experience. So while you're in town you can see your avatar; when you go out to fight you'll be in first-person again.

Ideally there would be an Elder Scrolls type of option for players, so that at any time you could play in first or third person depending on your own playing preferences.

A number of places have covered this in greater depth than I will today---including Forbes.

For my part, there's simply not a great deal to go on yet, and certainly not enough to say much of anything useful about the game, no matter how pretty the concept art may be. I suspect Bungie is onto something here, and I'm sure it will be a next-gen game as well. And I'm terribly excited to hear the full score.

But for now, unveiling or no, we are still picking at the information equivalent of table-scraps.